Fight for the Mind
by InkStainedSoul
Summary: The Doctor senses that Charlie is hiding something. Something that she doesn't know herself. But it takes a mysterious man and a few memories to find out. Once Charlie finds out what is going on, she tries to hide her secret from the Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

Please read the Gem of All before reading this if you haven't already. DoctorWho is owned by BBC.

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Charlie ran into the TARDIS, and slammed the door right behind her. The girl was out of breath, as if she was running for her life. After a few minutes, she set her backpack down and fell into a chair, waiting for the Doctor. For her first adventure, this one didn't turn out so well.

The Doctor came rushing in, just like Charlie, locking the door behind him. "Remind me to never come here again." He gasped.

"Why?"

"Well, everything seemed to be going well when I told the royal guard of Qwertious that you didn't mean to tackle the Queen." The Doctor said.

"Right, I just tripped because I neglected my dangling shoelace. Wait, if you told them what happened, why are you in here looking like you stole something?" Charlie got up.

"Yes, well, after apologizing, we had a few laughs and that's…when I…accidentally…broke the urn which held the ashes of the Queen's grandmother. Apparently, that's considered treason. They changed the laws since the last time I came here." The Doctor sighed. "Where do you want to go now? Ooh, I'm hungry. Are you hungry, Charlie? I could go for something edible."

"I feel a little hungry. Are there any restaurants in the universe?"

"Thousands, but I have just the one and…" Charlie ignored the Doctor ramblings as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a hairpin shaped of a blue lily.

"Hey, Doctor, look what I bought at the market." Charlie stuck out her hand, holding the pin, but the Doctor kept talking to himself, thinking others were listening. Charlie shrugged and placed the pin in her hair, keeping her bangs out of her face.

_The truth…_a voice whispered inside the TARDIS, capturing the Doctor's attention.

"Did you say something, Charlotte?" The Doctor turned to her, all he got was her shaking her head.

_The truth…_

"There it is again!"

"What? Charlie asked.

"I keep hearing a voice."

"Maybe it's your stomach telling you let's go to that restaurant already!" Charlie patted the Doctor's shoulder and smiled.

The Doctor smiled back and pulled the lever. Nothing. "What?" The Doctor pulled the lever up and down. Up and down. Still nothing. "The TARDIS! It's stalled." He pressed random buttons and became frantic.

"What?" Charlie looked over his shoulder, "Everything looks normal to me."

"Well, that's because you're human. Something is wrong here. I'm going down below, on my signal, pull the lever." The Doctor instructed as he jumped beneath the console.

Charlie stood and waited to hear the Doctor's command. She sighed and quietly hummed to herself, feeling bored as ever. "Any day now." She muttered to herself.

_Charlotte…_the same voice whispered.

Charlie heard her the faint sound of her name and turned around. Standing across from her was a man a foot taller than her, eyes of jade, dressed in a sharp, black suit, but completely covered in blood. From head to toe. A horrified look came onto Charlie's face as she saw him.

"Okay, Charlie, let her rip!" The Doctor hollered. He paused for a minute to think about what he said, "I'm never saying that again." A bloodcurdling scream came from above, sending the Doctor into action, "Charlotte!" He hopped up to the console and found Charlotte, out cold on the floor. "No, no, no. Charlotte? Charlotte?" He placed her head in his lap. He pulled out his sonic and scanned her, but at the time, a trail of blood began to descend from Charlie's nose.  
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	2. Chapter 2

Charlie groaned as she was coming to, "Ugh…what happened?" The Doctor helped her sit up.

"You fainted. Charlotte, what happened?"

"I thought…I thought I saw somebody. The way he looked, it scared me." She rubbed her head and groaned again.

"Charlie, your nose."

Charlie touched her upper lip and looked at the thick, red substance on her finger, "What the-?" The Doctor pulled a handkerchief from his jacket and gave it to Charlie, "Thanks." Charlie wiped her nose. "I must have smacked my nose when I fell." Charlie pressed the handkerchief against her nose to stop the bleeding

The Doctor gave a small chuckle and went back to the console, "Let's see if she works this time." He pulled the lever. Nothing. "Stalled still? I don't understand." He reached to push a button, but out the corner of his eye, there was the man that Charlie saw, standing right next to the Doctor.

"Doctor, you okay? You're really quiet." Charlie wiped her nose one last time and went to the Doctor, who caught him staring at the blood-covered man.

"You see him, too?"

"Mm-hmm." Charlie nodded her head.

"Who are you? How did you get into my TARDIS?" The Doctor asked.

The man was silent.

"Oh, come on, don't be shy. I'm the Doctor, this is Charlotte, or Charlie, whatever you want to call her." The Doctor was attempting the make conversation.

The mysterious, silent man pushed the Doctor gently aside and stood within an inch in front of Charlie. His bloody hand caressed her fair face, rending her unconscious.

"Charlotte!" The Doctor went to her side, "What have you done-" Before he could finish, the man touched the Doctor's forehead, sending him unconscious as well.

"Charlotte!" The Doctor woke up surrounded in darkness, the only light hanging over him. "Charlie! Charlie!" The Doctor shouted. Out of nowhere, a gray door appeared from the darkness. The Doctor pulled out his trusty sonic screwdriver and scanned it. "Nothing. What the hell?" The Doctor walked through the door.

Charlie woke up surrounded in darkness as well, separated by her friend, the Time Lord. "Doctor? Doctor!" She shouted in the darkness.

Out of nowhere, the blood-covered man appeared and walked over to Charlie.

"You…what did you do? Where are we? Where's the Doctor?" Charlie became worried.

The man shushed and put his hand on her shoulder, looking deep into her blue eyes. Suddenly then, Charlie understood everything.

"No…No! You can't tell him, I don't even know myself yet! What makes you think this can change anything?"

The man sighed and kissed Charlie on the top of her head. "I'm not going to tell him, you are, Chuckie." He whispered.

* * *

Merry Christmas, everybody!


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor walked into an old playroom. Worn dolls thrown across the floor along with dusty, wooden blocks, a broken tea set. Everything seemed sad, old, and gray. Literally, gray. "What have we here?" He peered around the room.

"Who are you?" A voice, nearly a squeak, came from behind. The Doctor turned around and saw a little girl, about the age of six, in a blue dress, black hair done up in high pigtails, and her eyes…exactly like Charlie's. Blue as twinkling sapphires in the moonlight.

"I should say the same thing. What are you doing here all alone by yourself?"

"This is my playroom. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." The girl stepped back in fear.

"I'm not a stranger. I'm the Doctor." He bent down to her eye level.

"Another one?" The girl tilted her head. "You're the eighth one I've seen so far."

"What are you talking about eighth? Who are you? And why do you look so familiar?"

"I thought doctors were supposed to know everything. You ask a lot of questions. You're like the other doctors, too, aren't you? You can't help because you don't anything!" The little girl became grumpy.

Charlie and the blood-covered man appeared behind a sheet a glass, unknown to the little girl or the Doctor. "Where are we?" Charlie scanned the room for a second, "Oh…and that's?" Charlie noticed the little girl getting huffy. "Oh, you've got to be kidding."

"Yes, this is fun, Chuckie." The man chuckled.

"You're not helping." Charlie retorted, "Why are you showing me this?"

"Chuckie, do you want the Doctor to find out for himself or are you going to tell him? Sooner or later, he's going to find out. You're just causing more grief for yourself."

"If you think tapping into my head will gather up my courage, you're dead wrong. I can't tell him because…I just can't."

"Do I have to get involved in this, Chuckie? You'll never grow up if you keep hiding!"

"Hiding is what I do best, along with hiding my secrets. I am not going to tell the Doctor." Charlie seemed furious at the man.

"Then you leave me no choice." The man disappeared from Charlie, leaving her alone.

"Hey, no need to get all fussy at me." The Doctor rubbed his hand against the girl's arm. "I'm better than other doctors. What was it that they didn't know?"

"They didn't know how to make him better."

"Who?"

"He's in the other room. I'll show you." The girl opened a door and went through it.

Charlie rapped her hand on the glass, trying to catch the Doctor's attention, "Doctor! Doctor!"

The Doctor turned his head and there was Charlie, on the other side of the glass, "Charlotte, where the hell are you?" He pulled out his sonic and scanned the glass.

"Don't follow her." Charlie frantically shook her head.

"What?"

"Don't follow her!" She shouted loud enough for the Doctor to hear her.

The little girl came back through the door, "I forgot. You asked me my name, it's Charlotte."

The Doctor looked at the little girl and back at Charlie, whose face never seemed angrier than he ever saw anyone, "Charlie?" He seemed worried.

"You…will never know." Charlie gritted her teeth and in a flash she was gone.

"Charlotte, what are you hiding?" The Doctor whispered.

* * *

Charlie = OC


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor followed the little girl into was it appeared to be a hospital room, "Charlotte? Charlotte Marcus?"

The little girl was nonresponsive and went to the patient in the bed, "We're too late." She started to cry.

The Doctor went over to the patient, turning out to be the blood-covered man. "Who are you?" He whispered. "Charlotte?"

Tears were running down the girl's face, "Hmm?"

"Who is this man?"

"Charlotte, don't you tell this man anything!" Charlie ran into the room, alerting the Doctor.

"Charlie? What are you doing? What is this place?" The Doctor asked.

"It's none of your business. Come on, Charlotte, I'm taking you out of here. You don't need to see this." Charlie picked up the young girl and started to head out the door.

The Doctor blocked her exit, "Charlotte Marcus, you are not telling me something. Something important. Something to do what that man in the bed."

Charlie turned and saw the bed, empty, "What man?"

The Doctor went to the bed. Charlie was right, it was empty. "The man that was…" He turned and Charlie and the girl were gone. "Charlie…"

"Kids these days are so concerned of their privacy." The blood-covered man laughed as he leaned against the wall.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know. Chuckie and I have a past of some sort. We were very close."

"That girl, Charlotte, and these places, were in her memories. Her mind, in fact. You brought us inside Charlie's head."

"Bingo, Doctor." The man clapped his hands, "Chuckie is hiding something, something that I believe that should be out in the open. But that girl is so stubborn. She'll do anything to keep her good friend, the Doctor, from finding out."

"You're helping me?"

"I'll try to. But this is Chuckie's mind, she can do anything. She'll try shut me out, but Chuckie knows herself that she doesn't have that kind of power."

"Shouldn't you be bothering someone else besides him?" Charlie appeared out of nowhere. "I want you gone. Both of you!"

"Charlie, what is going on? You need to tell me."

"I'm sorry, Doctor. Everybody has skeletons in the closet, but this one prefers to stay deep in the closet. You, out!" Charlie pointed to the man.

"Fine, but I'll be back, Chuckie." He disappeared.

"Joy." Charlie groaned.

"Chuckie? Does he mean you?"

"No, he's referring to the mass-murdering doll. Of course, he means me!"

"You're called Chuckie? If I had the choice, I'd call you Charlie over that. But I still like Charlotte."

"Well, your decisions aren't made around here. Besides, I hate being called Chuckie! Why do think I let people call me Charlie? Listen, I really don't want to go into this, you should go."

"Where? I'm trapped in here with you, Charlotte. Inside your own mind. What that man told me is you both have a past together, and something hidden that should be shared. What are you hiding, Charlotte Marcus? What is so important to you?"

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it, some things are better left unsaid."

"Charlotte…"

"Doctor, you're a good man and I trust you. But this is something I can't allow you to know. I'm sorry. It's for the best."

"For who?"

"Me." Charlie closed her eyes and disappeared.

"Where did she go?" The little girl came back into the room.

"Gone. She really doesn't me to know what you…uh, she is hiding. I don't know where to start."

"I'll help you. You seem like a nice man, besides you're just like him." Charlotte held the Doctor's hand.

"Charlotte, you know who this man is?"

"Mm-hmm." Charlotte nodded her head.

"Who is he?"

"He promised me not to say until she comes out with the truth. He likes it when Charlie tells people about him. Which doesn't happen very much."

"Hmm. Come on, little Charlotte. Let's go find out what is troubling Charlie."


	5. Chapter 5

The two walked out onto a gray landscape, with a lone pond and a dead tree beside it. "This is my favorite place." Charlotte said. "He would take me here whenever he get the chance."

"Who?"

"I told you. I can't tell you. You either find out yourself or Charlie tells you." Charlotte sat down and hugged her knees close to her chest, "He would buy hot dogs from the cart over there." She pointed to the distance, "And seeds over there."

"Seeds?" The Doctor sat down next to her.

"To feed the duckies. I loved the duckies. If we were lucky, we'd see swans, too. I'd call them-"

"Princess duckies." Charlie said to her self, unaware to the little girl and the Doctor. "And that tree next to the pond was-"

"An oak tree. We would sit down in the shade and he'd read to me my two favorite stories, which were-"

"Peter Pan and Snow White." Charlie sighed.

"Enjoying yourself?" The blood-covered man walked right next to Charlie.

"Looking back on it now, it's all so different."

"That's because you're looking on this negatively, Chuckie." The blood-covered man sighed, "Maybe once you're done here, we can go visit your mother."

Charlie bit her lip, "Now is not the best time to bring up my mother. Besides, the Doctor never told anything about himself, why do I need to tell him my life story?"

"Because I think there is something important, very important, that he needs to know about you. Don't wait until it's too late, Chuckie." The man disappeared.

The Doctor turned to the little girl, "Are you scared of this man, Charlotte?"

"Why would I be scared of him? I told you he's really nice, like you."

"Oh, really? What was he really like?"

"Very smart. He was a busy man, but he managed to put everything aside for me. If I wanted to play, he'd play with me."

Charlie began to smile as a tear strolled down her eye. The gray landscape turned colorful, the tree bloomed with life as ducks came flying down and landed into the pond.

"Duckies!" Charlotte got up and leaned over the pond to see the ducks up close.

"Charlotte, be careful. You could fall in." The Doctor got up.

"'The seven dwarfs found Snow White asleep in one of their beds, wondering who was this pretty, little child was.'" The Doctor turned his head and saw the blood-covered man reading the book, Snow White, aloud under a tree. He looked up and gave the Doctor a wink.

"Are you the cause of all this?" The Doctor went up to the man.

The blood-covered man looked at the change of the scenery, "No." He shook his head. "I told you before, this Chuckie's mind, whatever goes on in her head goes. So, she's the one who caused this, not me. I wonder what she'll show you next." He chuckled.

"Come on, duckie." Charlotte held out her hand, trying to touch a duck. The little girl reached out too far, causing her to lose her footing and fall into the pond, followed by a scream.

"Charlotte!" The blood-covered man screamed as he got up. He ran as quick as he could and jumped into the pond.

The Doctor stopped at the foot of the pond, waiting for either the man or Charlotte.

Charlie snuck up behind the Doctor and pushed him into the water, "Sorry…" She bit her lip.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor found himself falling into a different room, "Blimey, where am I now?" He brushed the dirt off his shoulders.

Right in front of him was a couple, passionately kissing and moaning on a couch. There was Charlotte, sitting down in front of them and watching.

"Oi, Charlotte, I believe you're too young to see this." The Doctor quickly covered the little girl's eyes.

Charlie entered the room with a gun in her hand, "Doctor, get out of the way!"

"Charlie, what the hell? Why are you holding a gun?" The Doctor picked up Charlotte.

Charlie aimed her gun at the woman. Whose hair was black as Charlie's, covered in a scandalous red dress, and kept laughing in between the kissing. Charlie had her in her sights and fired. The woman seemed completely unharmed and continued kissing. Charlie fired again. Still nothing. Charlie threw the gun aside and grabbed the woman by the hair, "You whore!"

The woman began screaming for dear life as Charlie kept insulting her.

"Do you know how much pain you caused? I never forgave you after what happened!" Charlie threw the woman on the ground and started beating her, "I wished you were the one that died, not him!" She cried.

"Charlie! Charlotte!" The Doctor pulled Charlie off the woman, "Charlotte Marcus, you look at me right now! What the bloody hell were you doing? Who is this woman?"

Charlie looked down and hesitated.

"Tell me!" The Doctor seemed furious.

"Diana Marcus. My mother." Charlie was crying. "She hurt me after…after…" Charlie was choking on her tears and couldn't say anything.

"Tell me, Charlotte." The Doctor wanted to know what was going on here so badly.

"Doctor, please don't be mad at her." Charlotte placed her tiny hand on his arm, "I hate her, too."

"Wha-? Your own mother?"

"Nobody's perfect, right, Chuckie?" The blood-covered man walked up to the group. He gazed at the woman, who was fixing herself and resumed making love to the man on the couch. "Ah, Diana. I don't know what was up with her. She was a beautiful woman, and I was so young."

"Wait, Charlie, are you saying that this man is-?"

"No! Get out of here!" Charlie shouted at the man.

"Fine. Ciao for now, Chuckie." The man chuckled as he disappeared once more.

"Come on, Doctor, I want to show you the best part." Charlotte tugged his arm and ran off.

"Charlotte!"

"Doctor, wait!" Charlie stopped him, "First of all, I didn't mean to push you into the pond. I just didn't want you to know what's going on. The man causing all of this, is like invading my privacy. You never tell me anything, only the fact that you're an alien and you're over 900 years old. This secret I'm hiding, it's really important to me. And what happened before affected the people I loved the most. For example, my mother."

"Charlie, do you want to tell me what's going on?" The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder.

"Part of me does, yet another doesn't. The majority is I wish everything was perfectly normal."

"What is normal, Charlotte?"

"My mom and…" Charlie turned around and found her mother, in a white ball gown, laughing and dancing with the blood-covered man. "Normal is something that isn't there. We just have to make the best of what we have so far." Charlie gave out a wry laugh, "See you on the other end, Doctor." Charlie disappeared from the Time Lord.

"Charlie!"

"Doctor, I'm waiting!" Charlotte called.

The Doctor chased after the little girl and found her in front of a vault, "A vault?"

"Not just any vault." The blood-covered man appeared once more, "The motherlode." He laughed, "If you can guess who I am, you can open the vault, and there you can find what making Miss Marcus tick like a time bomb."

"Wait!" Charlie ran up the Doctor. "Doctor, you don't have to do this. Just leave well enough alone."

"You're right! You don't have to do this, Doc, Charlotte does." The blood-covered man clapped his hands. "Charlotte, you can either let your friend find out what's wrong with you or you can go ahead and spoil it." He taunted her.

"Why are calling me Charlotte? You've always called me Chuckie." Charlie became

"Charlie, what does it matter? You hate being called Chuckie."

"Hate being called Chuckie?" The man laughed, "Oh, this is too good! You've loved being called Chuckie ever since you were a little kid."

"Charlotte, is this true?" The Doctor seemed to find out what was happening.

"No, he's lying!" Charlie rebuked.

"Lying? You looked up to me, Charlotte."

"No!" Charlie began to cry.

"Yes! I'd read to you every night and would always play with you when your mother wouldn't. And quit blaming your mother for everything that happened! I never hated her, I loved her, Charlotte. Charlotte," The man grabbed her hands and placed them on his face, "I've always loved you."

"If you loved me, why did you do all this to hurt me, Daddy?" Tears were rolling down Charlie's face.

"Daddy? I knew it, this man is your father." The Doctor said.

"Chuckie duck, I never meant to hurt you. I thought it would be time to tell the Doctor what was really going on."

"Tell me what? Charlie, what is going on? I've about had it with the twists and turns."

"Fine. I'll tell you what's going on. If you'll send us back to the TARDIS." Charlie looked at her father.

"Of course, honey." The man hugged his daughter one last time and sent her away. "Doctor, you take care of my little girl."

"Of course, sir."

"Goodbye, Chuckie duck."

"Bye, Daddy." A tear rolled down her eye as she closed her eyes.

Charlie and the Doctor woke up, back in the TARDIS. "Doctor? Doctor?" Charlie shook him to see if he was okay.

"I'm all right, Charlotte!" The Doctor got up, "Charlotte, do you want to tell me something?"

Charlie looked down and found her new hairpin, shattered in pieces, "My pin." She bent down and picked up one of the pieces.

"Let me see that." The Doctor got out his screwdriver and scanned it, "Charlie, this is a Memory Pin. If a person wears it, then the wearer and the people around them in a ten mile radius will be affected by the wearer's troubled mind."

"So, all that stuff we went through, wasn't real?"

"No. It was your mind telling you that you had something that you needed to get off your chest. Your father, or your subconscious, telling you had to tell me what was happening sooner or later. Now, Miss Marcus, is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"Yeah." Charlie nodded, "Come on, I want to show you something."

Charlie pulled out old photos from her backpack and showed them to the Doctor, telling him about her favorite memories and places. "Oh, here's a good one." She pulled out a picture and gave it to him. It was the blood-covered man, only not covered in blood, he looked like a normal human being. He was sitting under the oak tree at the park, with little Charlotte in his lap, reading a book to her.

"Your father, he's not covered in blood, I like it." The Doctor nodded as Charlie chuckled, "Tell me about him."

"His name was Bradley Marcus, my dad. We were as thick as thieves. He was a lawyer, a very smart one. I wanted just like him when I grew up."

"What happened to your father?"

"He died when I was eight. He was really sick. My mother cheated on him while he was in the hospital with his partner. After he died, she got married to him, and now they are living in Aspen. I'm living alone in my tiny apartment. I didn't want anything to do with them, I was still upset that she betrayed my dad when he was really sick. That was the time I needed her the most."

"Sick?"

"That's the thing I really need to tell you. My dad died from Sheldon Vexler's disease. It's when your blood is just too much and your veins just rupture, causing to bleed internally and out of every orifice."

"Explains him being covered in blood."

"Yeah. About three ago, they discovered that Sheldon Vexler's can be genetically passed."

The Doctor put down the picture and looked at Charlie, "You mean-?"

"There's about a 50% I might have it." Charlie pulled the envelope from before from her bag, "When we first met, I wasn't feeling well. So, after you left, I decided to go and get myself tested." Charlie handed him the envelope, "Those are the test results I got back. I didn't look at them, I didn't want to open them. I'm not going to worry about my life like some mouse hiding in its hole. So, if you want, you can go ahead and look. I'm not." She sighed, "That's it! Screw the restaurant, I'm going to go make me a sandwich. I'm starving!" Charlie got up and headed for the kitchen.

The Doctor was left alone, with the envelope in his hand, wondering what to do.

Charlie sat down in the kitchen, biting into the PB&J sandwich she made where the Doctor approached her, "Hey." She wiped some jelly off the corner of her mouth.

"I looked at your results." The Doctor sat down next to her.

"And?" She was nervous.

"You're going to be fine." The Doctor put his arm around Charlie and hugged her, "Ooh, what is that? PB&J?" He snatched the sandwich from her and took a bite.

"Hey, that's mine!" Charlie reached for her sandwich.

"I have to say, Charlotte, this is a bloody good sandwich, but not as good as the ones I make." He bragged.

"Get back here with my sandwich!" Charlie chased him for her sandwich.

Back near the console, scattered among the pictures of Charlie's childhood, was a letter.

_Dear Charlotte C. Marcus,_

_Your test results for Sheldon Vexler's disease came back: __**POSITIVE.**_


End file.
